Social and Emotional Development

Children’s social and emotional skills — such as persistence and the ability to make friends — are increasingly recognized as central to lifelong well-being. These skills contribute to health, happiness, achievement in school, and, eventually, success at work and with adult relationships. Child Trends’ research on social-emotional learning spans from infancy to young adulthood. Leveraging our expertise in early childhood development, education, youth development, and more, we work together to investigate and communicate the foundational elements around social-emotional competencies, skill building, and assessment.

Social and Emotional Development Projects

The social and emotional well-being of young children is an important goal for many federal, state, and private initiatives. However, the early childhood field has lacked consensus on indicators of healthy social emotion...
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